Welsh waters: Day 27

A change in the weather today: cloudy and a bit blustery, but a bit warmer.  We set off at about 8.15, but not before three ABC hire boats presumably due back at Whitchurch Marina.  It was just a shirt hop initially to the water point, where the washing machine went on.  The tap is nice and quick, so before long I walked down to set the staircase locks, while Adrian brought the boat.  Someone had already come up so I could just open the gate of the top lock, but the middle and bottom ones needed emptying.  Adrian was just in the top lock when a boat arrived below.

We had help from the crew of the boat below — well, kind of.  They were also setting the staircase up for themselves, and when I went off to get the first of the individual locks ready as we descended the bottom one of the staircase, they disappeared —  so that when I returned I was surprised to find it was Adrian who was opening the lock gates, having climbed up the ladder.

There was a boat coming up the middle of the individual locks, and another at the bottom one, so we were down remarkably quickly, then heading through the little tunnel.

Povey’s Lock was empty, and then as we approached Willeymoor Lock a boat that had clearly spent the night there set off right in front of us.  It wasn’t as if they’d already set the lock, because they hadn’t, and then it also transpired they then turned the lock on a boat which had just arrived below.  Adrian and the lady from that boat had a good chat about that, and various other things.

Once down Quoisley Lock we negotiated the blind bridge and then moored up before Bridge 24, just before Marbury where we stopped on the way up.  It was only about 11.15.  There are lots of single boat length spaces between the reeds here, where you can tuck in and feel all alone.  This afternoon we went for a walk along the towpath and bumped into fellow Braidbar owners, Carol and Rob whom we last met at Calcutt some time ago, so it was nice to have a quick catch up with them.  Not long after we got back there was a brief rain shower, but the main rain is forecast for this evening and tonight.

3 miles, 9 locks.  (103 miles, 48 locks)